#BREAKTHEPATENT

The drug Truvada has the ability to reduce the risk of HIV transmission by more than 99%, but it's being withheld from the American public because of the greed of its manufacturer.

Gilead Sciences has inflated the cost from $6 to more than $1,600 per month, despite the US taxpayer paying for almost the full cost of its development. If we could lower the price of the drug, we could end the HIV epidemic without a vaccine. Drug companies have held the American people hostage for too long. Join the campaign to #BreakThePatent.

Sign the Petition to call on the National Institutes of Health to break the patent around Truvada as PrEP:

OUR MISSION

Right now, a miracle drug is being withheld from the American public that can reduce the risk of HIV transmission by more than 99%. The drug is called Truvada and when taken daily as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) can help provide almost absolute protection against the virus.

So why aren’t more people taking it?

The manufacturer of the Truvada, Gilead Sciences, has inflated the price by more than 25,000%.

You read that right. The drug costs less than $6 a month to make but Gilead charges patients more than $1,600 for a 30 day supply. This cost barrier has translated to less than 10% of the at risk population currently taking the medication.

The truly infuriating part of that equation is that the drug manufacturer did not pay for the research that went into the development of the drug. YOU did. The US taxpayer, through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), paid for almost all of the research that went into developing Truvada as PrEP.

All the while, as Gilead lines its pockets by profiting off of taxpayer investment, the HIV epidemic continues to persist. More than 100 Americans contract HIV everyday, with people of color and the LGBT community disproportionately affected.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. The NIH could “march-in” and break the patents around the drug at any time, immediately lowering the price and allowing the millions to gain access to this life saving treatment.

The time is now. Sign the petition and tell the National Institutes of Health to #BreakThePatent!

Together we can send a clear message to the Pharmaceutical industry that the American people will not tolerate their greed.

5 TAKEAWAYS

PrEP WORKS!

When taken daily, Truvada (or a generic equivalent) reduces the risk of HIV transmission by more than 99%. That’s more effective than the vaccines for Polio, Measles, Mumps, and Tuberculosis. If we can get enough people to take the medication, we can end the epidemic once and for all. When we have the technology to prevent HIV transmission, it’s a moral outrage that the drug is still being withheld from the public.

PrEP DOESN'T HAVE TO BE SO EXPENSIVE

Though Gilead charges an average of $1,600 for a monthly supply Truvada, it costs less than $6 to produce! What Gilead charges for just two pills could pay for an entire year’s supply of a generic equivalent.

THE US ALREADY PAYS FOR GENERIC TRUVADA

– just not for Americans. As part of international HIV programs, the US pays for generic Truvada within Africa, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere for ~$6 a month. Meanwhile, Americans pay 250+ times that price due to Gilead's patents.

GILEAD DID NOT INVENT PrEP

The US government and taxpayers paid for almost 100% of the research that went into the development of Truvada as PrEP, and still retains the relevant intellectual property rights.

GILEAD’S PATENT CAN BE BROKEN

The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 gives federal funding agencies the right to “March In” and ignore patent exclusivity should the holder fail to acknowledge “health or safety needs” of consumers by, for instance, engaging in price gouging.